tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-92603082015-08-02T04:23:10.688-04:00NY's Funniest RabbiPostings From An Eclectic Soulrabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.comBlogger5224125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-33914999944221697362015-08-01T23:59:00.000-04:002015-08-02T00:42:51.048-04:00Some Words10:25 PM - I have a hard time sharing here without writing that I don't know what to write or where to write it. Spoke to dad a little while ago. he is always happy to hear. &nbsp;It gets lonely is assisted living. On the other hand it can get lonely anywhere. An ambulence came there over Shabbos, "some excitement." Someone passed away. &nbsp;I "get credit,"he said, was the winner of the prize for first person to call him after Shabbos...<br /><br />Reading News-<br /><br />Recently finished <u>The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennessy</u>. &nbsp;I really enjoyed it. &nbsp;I liked it more than <u>The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry</u>. But I do think you have to read that one first to get this one.<br /><br />I started reading <u>All Who Go Do Not Return</u>. It is well written. &nbsp;It is heartbreaking in many ways. Reading from it leaves me feeling awkwardly torn.<br /><br />I read pieces of John Cleese's memoir, <u>So. Anyway</u>. &nbsp;He speaks of his mother being unpredictable and going into rages and how he and his father were always trying to avoid that. His best memories of her are when he made he laugh. He never made her laugh as hard as when she was complaining about life and he said if it was that bad he knew a guy that could knock her off. &nbsp;he says that he never loved her as much as he did at that moment.<br /><br />Read pieces of Donald Hall's <u>Essay's after Eighty</u>. He is surprisingly funny and insightful. &nbsp;I never read a poem of his that grabbed me. &nbsp;He always interested me because he was married to <a href="http://rabbifleischmann.blogspot.com/2013/07/facing-otherwise-with-gratefulness-to.html">Jane Kenyon who I did connect with, particularly her poem "Otherwise</a>."<br /><br />11:03 PM - Been sitting here and writing the above. &nbsp;Had one exchange online with a friend. Wrote another two friends. &nbsp;Posted on Facebook. <br /><br />My soul longs and yearns...<br /><br />Beyond 11:59 PM - What I like most in a TV show is relationships and humanity. &nbsp;I can get through shows of various genres if there's enough of what I connect to. &nbsp;The first 6 episodes of the new summer show Proof were okay. &nbsp;The seventh one called St. Lukes really hit it out of the part for me, bringing in family, religion, loyalty, a big time emphasis on relationships and humanity. &nbsp;Bravo!rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-48271138017503616602015-07-30T20:38:00.001-04:002015-07-30T20:38:50.351-04:00Haiku of the DayAmbivalence here<br />I've come to cover up fear<br />but I don't work cheaprabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-52175021528307347142015-07-29T23:42:00.000-04:002015-07-29T23:52:27.669-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOF3En6TdZQ/VbmdbODkVMI/AAAAAAAAEJw/vpJ9eeFVmco/s1600/right%2Bvs%2Bresponsibility.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zOF3En6TdZQ/VbmdbODkVMI/AAAAAAAAEJw/vpJ9eeFVmco/s320/right%2Bvs%2Bresponsibility.jpg" width="310" /></a></div><br />I don't think it's "everybody" and "nobody," but I think we do have a serious problem with this balance. This was touched upon in a talk by R Elie Mansour that was shown all over on Tisha Be'Av. He spoke of how important it is to be a <i>vatran&nbsp;</i>- to let things slide. But he said we live in a world when rights are emphasized and in that kind of an atmosphere it's hard to sell the idea of letting things go. His selling point, I think was that it leads to true holiness.<div><br /></div><div>A dear friend of mine, Rabbi Benjy Kramer just told me a related idea that he heard from rabbi nachum Muschel: &nbsp;People today have an attitude of "magiah li," - I have it coming to me, I'm entitled/ &nbsp;But he suggested that this word for arrival is related to the word yegiah, which means effort. We truly have things coming to us when we earn them via hard work.<br /><div><br /></div><div><br /><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.039999961853px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 11.039999961853px;"><br /></span></div></div>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-48339848551903483712015-07-28T23:58:00.000-04:002015-07-29T01:59:00.679-04:00Queenie Hennesssy is dying again. &nbsp;It broke my heart 3 years ago when her impending death was featured in a book. &nbsp;And now it's being presented again as told from her point of view. &nbsp;I didn't think Rachel Joyce would have something strong in this second take on the same story. &nbsp;I think, though, now that I have about 40 out of 366 pages left, that this is an amazing work. &nbsp;The voice and phrasing are powerful and poignant. I very highly recommend "The Love Song of Miss Queenie Hennesy." I think it was more pleasing to me than the book it follows up. &nbsp;But I do think to fully get it you need to read "The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Harold Fry" first. &nbsp;Two different angles of one story.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-19753151583569658602015-07-22T23:59:00.000-04:002015-07-23T01:06:02.949-04:00Mei'Ein Olam HabbahTwo Hours of walking in cool night air while talking on the phone with an old friend.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-84916429149234812232015-07-22T16:58:00.001-04:002015-07-22T17:00:25.450-04:00You Cannot Reason People Out of Something They Were Not Reasoned IntoWow. &nbsp;This is profound. &nbsp;This applies very often in life. We like to act like we make our choices rationally, but generally it's all about context and emotion, sociology over ideology.<br /><span style="color: white;">h</span><br /><a href="http://quoteinvestigator.com/2015/07/10/reason-out/">Here </a>is background, from the great quote investigator, on who may be the source of these wise words.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-69392740132290749692015-07-21T23:27:00.000-04:002015-07-22T00:14:06.857-04:00"Living Is Easy With Eyes Closed"Within the past week the visits here have reached 104 page views and 84 unique visits, both on last Thursday- though I don't know what that means. I checked because someone just asked me if people read the blog and I said around fifty a day on average, not counting Shabbos, which is a slow day here- as it should be).<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TNJb4PiNCWQ/Va8OxOzBJlI/AAAAAAAAEJU/mznMbLdu2X0/s1600/today.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="121" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TNJb4PiNCWQ/Va8OxOzBJlI/AAAAAAAAEJU/mznMbLdu2X0/s320/today.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Green = Page Views</span></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"></span><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">Blue = Unique Visits</span></div><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><div style="text-align: center;">Orange = Returning Visits</div><div style="text-align: center;">I = Don't Get These Terms</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div></span>It's another summer day here in NYC. The way I wrote that reminded me of Lake Wobegon and the fact that <a href="http://www.mlive.com/news/us-world/index.ssf/2015/07/keillor_radios_prairie_home_co.html">Garisson Keilor just announced that he'll soon be retiring as host of PHC</a>. That means that the "News From lake Wobegon" will also be retired, along with his other skits. A master musician, Chris Thile, is taking over, and the show will probably get more musical (again).<br /><br />Carla Kimball entered my mind and I'm thinking about her work, particularly the pictures I've cited <a href="http://rabbifleischmann.blogspot.com/search?q=carla+kimball">here</a>. She is now <a href="http://revealedpresence.com/story-cards/">selling cards of her photos</a> and questions and I'm thinking seriously about buying them.<br /><br />Another tragic death took place last night in New York City. And this song came to mind:<br /><br /><div><b>Don't Judge A Life (Abridged)</b><br /><span style="font-size: x-small;">By John Gorka</span></div><br />Don't judge a life by the way it ends<br />Losing the light as night descends<br />For we are here and then we're gone<br />Remnants to reel and carry on<br /><br />Endings are rare when all is well<br />Yes and the tale easy to tell<br />Stories of lives drawn simplified<br />As if the facts were cut and dried<br /><br />Don't judge a life as if you knew<br />Like you were there and saw it through<br />Measure a life by what was best<br />When they were better than the rest<br /><br />Don't judge a life by the way it ends<br />Losing the light as night descends<br />A chance to love is what we've got<br />For we are here and then...<br /><br />We're not<br /><div><br /></div><div>-------------------------<br /><br />And earlier today, before this song serendipitously came to me, I wrote this:<br /><br />We know the ending<br />but that doesn't mean that life<br />has to be tragic</div><div><br />------------------------<br /><br />And today, from the High Line, I took this photo:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksVYeIyHyiQ/Va8LhlYlgyI/AAAAAAAAEJA/1WxRfwVTjfE/s1600/from%2Bhigh%2Bline.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ksVYeIyHyiQ/Va8LhlYlgyI/AAAAAAAAEJA/1WxRfwVTjfE/s320/from%2Bhigh%2Bline.jpg" /></a><br /><br />And I took this one on my way into the city, on the streets where I live:<br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ndKwP_0Vbb0/Va8L_6qAobI/AAAAAAAAEJI/jOjbJRfM-78/s1600/WH.jpg"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ndKwP_0Vbb0/Va8L_6qAobI/AAAAAAAAEJI/jOjbJRfM-78/s320/WH.jpg" /></a><br /><br />Good night and may G-d bless.</div>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-33690912358822368292015-07-19T23:57:00.000-04:002015-07-20T13:04:18.069-04:00A Blog PostI like breathing, something about it makes me feel alive. &nbsp;And I feel that way about writing as well. &nbsp;Sometimes I write just for me, therapeutically. &nbsp;But more often than not writing implies reading. &nbsp;Like everyone who doesn't merely write- but is a writer in their bones, I write to be read.<br /><br />My maternal grandfather would speak of years that he spent being raised by his grandparents, being that he was the oldest and that his father had preceded the family to America. &nbsp;His grandfather was a disciple of the Kosover Rebbe and he recalled going to him regularly. He would also say that whatever Torah he knew he knew from that time. &nbsp;People think I must mean Sosov, but <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kosov_(Hasidic_dynasty)">Kosov was a real and important historical, Chassidic place</a>.<br /><br />It's the summertime and it's heatwave days. &nbsp;Feeling like a hundred, the weathermen say. &nbsp;And I've been home, mostly, today, writing. &nbsp;Thinking.<br /><br />Friends, family, connections, values, honesty, sharing, trust, physical/emotional/mental health, G-d, religion, Torah, thought, Torah Thought, games, psychology, listening, helping, running away, reaching out: These are some of the things I'm thinking about. <br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;">-----------------------------</div><br />We don't have to teach ourselves to cry, we just have to give ourselves permission. - Erica Brown, In the Narrow Places, page 80<br /><br />What does the quote above bring to mind for you?rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-49531255669797561492015-07-19T23:45:00.000-04:002015-07-20T00:16:23.400-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kue09gpoJ9s/Vax11iJKVrI/AAAAAAAAEIU/pHCTnCK-1x8/s1600/iceberg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Kue09gpoJ9s/Vax11iJKVrI/AAAAAAAAEIU/pHCTnCK-1x8/s320/iceberg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-10821720823439616532015-07-19T22:26:00.000-04:002015-07-20T00:30:25.507-04:00In The Narrow Places - Daily Inspiration For The Three Weeks: My Thoughts On Its Intro<div class="_4_j7" style="color: #141823; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px;"><div class="_4_j7"><span class="highlightNode" style="background-color: white; border-bottom-color: rgba(88, 144, 255, 0.298039); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px; padding: 0px 1px;">Erica Brown</span><span style="background-color: white; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;">&nbsp;begins by stating that the book was written in an expansive rather than a constricted context, and that perhaps this causes her capturing of loss to be flawed. Nevertheless she is grateful to the publishers, editors,grant providers, family friends, community, and colleagues. She states that the book honors the memory of her relatives wh</span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="background-color: white; display: inline; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;">o were murdered during the Holocaust in the Polish town of&nbsp;Zakrzewek&nbsp;and that this "is that closest touch-point" that she has for the destruction of the Temple and Jerusalem.</span></div><div class="_4_j7" style="background-color: white;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;"><br /></span></div><div class="_4_j7" style="background-color: white;"><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;"></span><br /><div><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;">Dr. Brown begins her introduction by pointing out that Tisha&nbsp;B'Av&nbsp;and more-so Shiva&nbsp;Asar&nbsp;B'Tamus&nbsp;and the three weeks in between are generally neglected and go unrecognized. Many Jews don't observe the rituals of this time and many of those do keep the customs of this period view it as an inconvenience rather than getting into it in a meaningful manner. She writes that "the Jewish community at large has not embraced Tisha&nbsp;B'Av&nbsp;despite the fact that it is a day which is nationally cathartic. She suggests that American Jews like most Americans place comfort as a high priority and that causes them to hold Tisha&nbsp;B'Av&nbsp;at bay. She notes that American Jews mourn for the destruction Holocaust because the recent loss of millions of Jewish people is more easily understood and felt than what people perceive as the inaccessible loss of a building that never meant anything to them in the first place. Brown points out that&nbsp;sadly people&nbsp;don't realize that what we mourn for in the days approaching Tisha&nbsp;B'Avand on that day itself is "the loss of an aspect of our relationship with G-d."</span></div><span class="text_exposed_show" style="display: inline; font-weight: normal; line-height: 20px;"><div><br /></div><div>Citing Cicero Dr. Brown develops the idea that a mature person is a person who has a sense of history and that the reverse of that assertion is true as well. Unfortunately in America today there is little sense of history, she points out, reminding us of what we all see with our own eyes - that "American holidays are generally&nbsp;commemorated without a historical context." The problem is made worse by the youthfulness worship of American culture, which poo poos looking back.</div><div><br /></div><div>Happiness, Brown points out, is all the rage in America today - as illustrated by the approximately 17, 000 results&nbsp;that&nbsp;come up when you go to Amazon and search "books on happiness." However, people suffer by neglecting suffering because "suffering humanizes us." And when people morn communally for a tragedy they have in common "they form intense and unique bonds."</div><div><br /></div><div>Tisha&nbsp;B'Av&nbsp;provides us with words and time to feel and express our pain, Brown explains. She says that this period of mourning provides the glue that can hold us together as a people.</div></span></div></div>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-16367399404905626432015-07-17T16:37:00.002-04:002015-07-17T16:37:52.197-04:00Wonderful<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/lYIRO97dhII" width="420"></iframe>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-37383643841035256142015-07-16T07:36:00.004-04:002015-07-16T07:37:30.534-04:00I Like The Clever OnesI'm ambivalent<br />about my ambivalence;<br />Not sure this will change<br /><br />More at MyHaikuToo.Blogspot.comrabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-48437648722276713142015-07-16T06:27:00.000-04:002015-07-16T06:27:00.046-04:00Knowledge Speaks, Wisdom ListensNot sure who said this , but I think it's true. &nbsp;I've seen this applied to teaching. &nbsp;Reminds me of the journalist who met with Dale Carnegie at a party to investigate if he was truly a great a conversationalist as people said he was. She spoke the whole time, while he actively ("just") listened. &nbsp;The next day in her column she wrote that he was every bit as exceptional a conversationalist as his reputation indicated! It also brings to mind the story about when Ed Koch met the Lubavitcher Rebbe. &nbsp;He was told beforehand, by a man in the waiting room, how wise The Rebbe was. Koch went in and the Rebbe was quiet. &nbsp;So Koch started talking. &nbsp;And he kept talking and talking. &nbsp;For an hour Koch talked and The Rebbe didn't utter a word. &nbsp;And then time was up. When Koch came out the guy in the other room asked him what he thought. &nbsp;He replied, "What that man knows about politics!" This also fits with the idea that "silence is a fence for wisdom." Rabbi Abraham Twerski says that silence precedes and surrounds the profound wisdom of being and staying there with and for a person.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-82179940414708859922015-07-13T23:50:00.000-04:002015-07-14T22:03:50.271-04:00Stan: A Film About Laurel and HardyI recently watched a movie that was really touching and meaningful for me. It's called <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0791338/">Stan</a>&nbsp;and it's about Saurel and Hardy. &nbsp;I was particularly fond of them as a kid. &nbsp;I watched their movies, bought a book that summarized and rated each film, had a poster and a lithograph of them on my wall, and owned an album of their bits and songs from the movies. &nbsp;I also wrote skits in which I played each of them, and I looked like Stanley and had that as my nickname for a time.<br /><br />Back in the day I studied up on them and much of what I learned reappreared in this film. &nbsp;But they did it with a different slant. &nbsp;I had always thought that Stan was more invested and Babe was off playing golf between takes, but they put a different spin on that same data. I knew Stan was a creative genius. &nbsp;i knew he was married several times. &nbsp;But I didn't know he had a strong ego and was so driven his myopia sometimes left other people out of his vision, even people in his inner most circles. &nbsp;I didn't know that Ollie was a sweetheart. &nbsp;I had heard one story about the tie twiddle, which is featured prominently in this film but with a different origin story. &nbsp;I knew that I found them elegant and life affirming but I didn't imagine them discussing that undercurrent of their work. &nbsp;And I never thought about what their practicing together looked like. &nbsp;I knew Laurel lived longer than Hardy by many years and that he wrote skits for them after there was no more them. &nbsp;But I didn't have the full picture. <br /><br />This short film connects a lot of dots in the Laurel and Hardy story. &nbsp;I find British works are generally classier than American ones and this is a very high level piece of art. &nbsp;I'm so glad I got to revisit two of my best friends from childhood through this remarkable piece. &nbsp;And I'm glad that I've got Trail of the Lonesome pine playing on a loop in my head. &nbsp;It's quite a fine tune.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-45585171905642834422015-07-13T23:32:00.000-04:002015-07-13T23:32:06.930-04:00From A Teabag<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iIW_cBNdltc/VaSB5fHyGiI/AAAAAAAAEH0/Zwa3lSBdtMA/s1600/compassion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-iIW_cBNdltc/VaSB5fHyGiI/AAAAAAAAEH0/Zwa3lSBdtMA/s320/compassion.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-40133140535450397542015-07-13T15:23:00.003-04:002015-07-13T15:23:58.078-04:00Yet Another Cartoon About How Facebook Has Ruined Us<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_OKrD1Ba6ww/VaQQAt21GAI/AAAAAAAAEHk/F6jPS3EXs9Y/s1600/facebook.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_OKrD1Ba6ww/VaQQAt21GAI/AAAAAAAAEHk/F6jPS3EXs9Y/s320/facebook.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-73192044120188610822015-07-13T04:21:00.001-04:002015-07-13T04:21:19.463-04:00<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5_uLf-D8RTo/VaN06TPHCuI/AAAAAAAAEHQ/VrWYTUcIdkc/s1600/lit.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5_uLf-D8RTo/VaN06TPHCuI/AAAAAAAAEHQ/VrWYTUcIdkc/s320/lit.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-31183523925388375642015-07-12T16:50:00.001-04:002015-07-12T16:51:51.914-04:00Link to My Haiku<div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://myhaikutoo.blogspot.com/">Strong Jewish haiku,</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://myhaikutoo.blogspot.com/">these short poems by a Jew:</a></div><div style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://myhaikutoo.blogspot.com/">Serious and real</a></div>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-18823843542932990652015-07-12T07:01:00.001-04:002015-07-12T07:01:14.609-04:00<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 20px;">Ordinary people seek entertainment. Extraordinary people seek education and learning. -&nbsp;</span><span style="border: 0px; box-sizing: border-box; font-family: Roboto, sans-serif; font-size: 17.5px; line-height: 20px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Benjamin Hardy</span>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-23654060625372859272015-07-11T23:22:00.000-04:002015-07-13T00:07:28.043-04:00Put An X On My Forehead<a href="http://www.npr.org/2015/07/11/421810562/who-does-that-broadway-stars-react-to-badly-behaved-audiences?utm_source=facebook.com&amp;utm_medium=social&amp;utm_campaign=npr&amp;utm_term=nprnews&amp;utm_content=20150711">This story</a>&nbsp;(interview <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/10/theater/hold-the-phone-its-patti-lupone.html">here)</a> has gotten my attention. I have many thoughts about it that are not yet congealed. &nbsp;And yet. &nbsp;I want to write this now...<br /><br />We live in selfish times. &nbsp;That's the fact, though it's not often stated that way, and I wish that at the moment I felt like saying it more kindly. &nbsp;We are less respectful, less considerate, less loyal, less of most everything that makes us more human and less animal than we once were.<br /><br />While I feel that I have shared this poem many times here, it's been only four. &nbsp;And the last time I posted it here, though it seems like a second ago, was eight years ago, almost to the day:<br /><br /><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: georgia; font-size: 19.6689987182617px;"><em><strong><span style="color: white;">..</span>My Coronet</strong></em></span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><strong><em><span style="color: white; font-size: 19.6689987182617px;">l</span></em></strong></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px;"></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">If I in my daily contact</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">.......&nbsp;</span>Of school days spent with you</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Have taught you</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">.......</span>To live content with small means,</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">To seek elegance rather than luxury,</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">.......</span>Refinement rather than fashion,</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">To be most worthy and respectable,</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">.......</span>To study hard, talk gently and act</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">......................</span>frankly,</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">To listen with open mind and heart</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">.....</span><span style="color: white;">..</span>And grow up to be all that you should:</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Cheerful, brave, and true</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">.......</span>To G-d, home, and country;</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Then I shall have completed</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">.......</span>The setting of another tiny jewel, with</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';"><span style="color: white;">..................</span>care</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: 'times new roman';">Into the crown of my life work.</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><span style="color: white;">O</span></div><div align="left" style="background-color: white; text-align: center;"><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px;"><span style="color: white;"><span style="font-size: 12.860499382019px;"></span></span><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 12.860499382019px;"><strong>FRANCES G.V. KENNY</strong></span></span></div><div style="color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: 12.860499382019px;"><strong><br /></strong></span></span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 24.2079982757568px;">This poem was written by my mom's science teacher and given to each student when they graduated eighth grade circa 1950. It is a remnant of a time when regular people wrote poetry in praise of high and accepted standards of&nbsp;</span></span><span style="line-height: 24.2079982757568px;">contentedness</span><span style="color: #333333;"><span style="line-height: 24.2079982757568px;">&nbsp;and respectability, gentleness and frankness, bravery and truth, G-d and home and country, and crowns of life's work. It was a time when no-one thought of using their phones during a play because it was not only physically impossible but because it was morally unthinkable.</span></span></span></span></div></div>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-11731051480083831412015-07-09T21:58:00.004-04:002015-07-10T12:38:57.408-04:00Spring Fall 2015 - Part IOn the last night of Pesach I twisted my foot. It happened in an unexpected and mundane way. &nbsp;It was about 9 P.M. Dinner was ending and I was about to host a trivia competition that I call "It's Not Fair." &nbsp;I&nbsp;taking a short walk on a country road between the Shul and my room.<br /><br />I was on the newly paved, slightly elevated road. &nbsp;There was very little light and it was drizzling. &nbsp;I was walking along the edge of the road and to my left, lower down, was the old gravel. &nbsp;Without realizing it I slipped ever so slightly and my foot rolled inward for a fraction of a second and I didn't fall but I screamed, because it hurt a lot. &nbsp;I stood for a while, leaning against a farm like wooden railing, trying to regain my composure, hoping the pain would pass. A worker drove by, asked I was alright. I said no. He asked if I wanted him to drive me home. &nbsp;I said no. And he was gone.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-49656210047787243642015-07-09T21:37:00.001-04:002015-07-09T21:37:23.464-04:00A Statement About TransportationAt this age and stage and situational point in my life, given my givens, I have little patience or time or energy for public transportation. it seems to take either 1 or 2 hours no matter where I go. &nbsp;It is never door to door. &nbsp;There's always a good amount of walking. There's usually a transfer. &nbsp;There's issues with sitting comfortably or at all. &nbsp;Right now it's priceless for me to take a cab instead - not having the ability to safely drive myself. &nbsp;Priceless. &nbsp;And the cab companies know that. &nbsp;And for right now I'm okay with that.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-10446826014586712192015-07-07T18:17:00.001-04:002015-07-07T18:17:19.638-04:00A July 7th ThoughtIt's early in summer break and there's lots to do. &nbsp;I hope to get to Israel and spiritually recharge, though it will be expensive it's one of those things that's priceless for me. &nbsp;I've done some preparing for next year and am happy to be ahead of the game with that (though teaching is always endlessly alive and in the present tense). &nbsp;Social things are on the agenda/efforts toward moving forward with my life. &nbsp;Healing things on the agenda/efforts toward moving forward with my life. As always I'm reading, writing, learning, and thinking, nut it's different during this time of year. &nbsp;People ask what I'm doing for the summer and these answers don't always satisfy the what they're looking for. I think this is a broader issue than me and me and you and my summer too. It's an issue of people redefining others for themselves. We need to let others be, not assume that they are who we expect. &nbsp;Everyone is mysterious, though some people don't even know it themselves.rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-29614066725363489262015-07-06T01:39:00.000-04:002015-07-07T01:00:17.573-04:0011:59 And BeyondWhat to write? Where to write it?<br /><br />I just got home after being out and about all day. And I had an email from a parent asking for assistance regarding a student I'm guidance counselor for. &nbsp;It's an honor to be a go to person to be able to help, to have a job that is a calling...<br /><br />I took the train home from Brooklyn, 2 hours. &nbsp;A cab would have been 45 minutes. Time is worth more than money. &nbsp;I don't feel safe driving... I discussed this here over years and more importantly I've lived it. So much time on trains and buses?<br /><br />Just found this poem I wrote a few years back"<br /><br /><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;">Waiting for connection</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;">Waiting for a ride</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;">Waiting as time passes me by</div><div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 15.1299991607666px; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wrote it in the morning, waiting for a ride, running late...</span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></div><div style="background-color: white; line-height: 24.2079982757568px; text-align: left;">Good night and G-d bless.</div>rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9260308.post-68495459724717391282015-07-05T23:41:00.000-04:002015-07-06T02:47:44.977-04:00Some Books I've Read from Start To End - Part ISummer is here. &nbsp;The school year is (kinda sorta) over. It's a time for reading. &nbsp;I love to read but it doesn't come easily for me. &nbsp;It's mostly an eye issue. <a href="http://rabbifleischmann.blogspot.com/2010/07/prism-post.html">&nbsp;I have strabismus</a> and do not focus with both eyes at the same time. &nbsp;This affects my reading. &nbsp;I have to really be pulled in by a book to make it from cover to cover. &nbsp;And if I do make it all the way through a book it means I've read and reread pieces, thought and rethought phrases, shared and re-shared parts, again and again.<br /><br />Here, in no particular order are some books that I've read in their entirety and digested and carried with me after turning the last page (books mentioned within the discussion of another book are also books that I read start to finish.):<br /><br /><u>The Unlikely Pilgrimage of Haold Fry</u>: This was not an easy read, but it had a strong payoff at the end and stayed with me. Part of it was that this book took me to and from a particular summer to Israel. &nbsp;Part of it was the subtle, sensitive, human writing that was strong enough to get me to recently start reading the new companion piece to it.The sequel (though the author doesn't call it that), <u>The Lovesong of Miss Queenie Hennesy</u>&nbsp;is pretty good and is pulling me along, though it feels more of this world than its more magical predecessor. For some reason I like British books and when I think of this one I recall <u>How It All Began, </u>a good book about an old woman who is mugged and how that event affects other lives and other stories. &nbsp;Also, on a related note is <u>The Long Way Down,</u>&nbsp;about four people who meet when they come to the same spot to commit suicide. &nbsp;That book, by Nick Hornby, is narrated by each of the four characters.<br /><br /><u>The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime</u>: Because I love reading and because it is hard for me I look at reviews to see what calls out to me. &nbsp;I remember when this book came out and received rave reviews. I ran to buy it in the hardcover copy, which I still own. No play or movie will ever be able to do what this author did in this book, working with just words. It has such a strong, real, and honest voice. It's amazing. What really works for me in most books I like big time is a strong first person voice. (Someone I know told me that their favorite book was the <i>next </i>one that this author wrote,&nbsp;<u>A Spot of Bother</u>. I bought it, tried it, couldn't get through it.)<br /><br />All of Dara Horn's books: &nbsp;My favorite is <u>The World to Come</u>, followed closely by <u>In The Image.</u>&nbsp;I've read books (whole ones even) by a bunch of other Jewish writers writing about Jewish life. &nbsp;I find Horn to be the most inteligent, accurate, all around best of the lot. &nbsp;I can't praise her books enough. &nbsp;<u>The World to Come</u>&nbsp;is about Chagal and Der Nister and much more. &nbsp;<u>In The Image</u>&nbsp;captures single life on the upper west side, the experiences of a Vietnam vet and much more. &nbsp;She does magical realism, historical fiction, and weaves it all together articulately and movingly.<br /><br /><u>I'm Proud of You</u>&nbsp;is a book by Tim Madigan about his connection with Mister Rogers. &nbsp;It is amazing. &nbsp;It reminded me a bit of <u>Tuesdays With Morrie</u>&nbsp;but is more religious, and - to me - stronger. &nbsp;It also reminded me a bit of <u>Rather Joe</u>, which also riveted me and took me from cover to cover, but as much as that book touched me, this one is a book that accompanies me through life. &nbsp;It's interesting to me that both this and <u>Tuesdays With Morrie </u>&nbsp;have a major part of the story that relates to the author's relationship with their brother. I loved learning about mister rogers and how good and real he was. &nbsp;I went on to read <u>The Simple Faith of Mister Rogers, </u>which was good, but not as powerful as this. &nbsp;This book is a confessional, a baring of the soul, and part of that story is the support and friendship he shared with Mister Rogers. It means a great deal to me that part of my letter of appreciation appears at the start of the paperback edition of the book and that Mr. Madigan sent and inscribed to me "with great gratitude and affection."<br /><br /><u>I Was A Child</u>&nbsp;by Bruce Eric Kaplan is a short, precise, funny, nostalgic book that is one in a million. &nbsp;It captures the authors childhood in a quirky and cutting way and at the same time captures my childhood that took place at a parallel time. &nbsp;There are drawings by the author, who draws cartoons for <u>The New Yorker</u>&nbsp;(as BEK),&nbsp;on almost every page. This a deceptively brief and simple work, which is abbreviated and truly profound. This book is a keeper.<br /><br /><u>My Friend Leonard</u>&nbsp;- I don't remember much from this book except that it pulled me quickly from start to finish with it's powerful, first person, narrative. &nbsp;One friend of mine asked me at the time that it was poplar if I thought it was true. I said that it didn't matter to me, it contained human truths whether it happened or not. &nbsp;Another friend took me and some other friends out for his birthday and went all out, paying homage to Leonard who was generous like that. (I had lent that friend the book and he loved it.)rabbi neil fleischmannhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09733555336540451779noreply@blogger.com0